Scientific Secrets of Jainism

Author(s): Nandighoshvijay
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

Page 298

26. Prohibition Of Fresh Vegetables On Parva-Tithis - Auspicious Days: A Scientific View-Point
From very ancient times Jains are famous all over the world for their food
habits and life-style. All their religious doctrines and rules of food habits and life-style are perfectly scientific because they were not introduced by an ordinary person. After having obtained omniscience, Śramana Bhagavan Mahāvira expounded them for the greatest welfare of not only his disciples, monks and nuns and laymen and laywomen but also for the greatest welfare of the entire human race and the whole living world. If they are scrupulously and wisely observed, they, no doubt, secure self-welfare. By observing these rules, many living beings secured self-welfare and ultimately attained the final liberation. Ancient scriptures give such illustrations.
Among many rules of food habits prevalent in the Jain tradition, there is a rule in the Śvētāmbara Idolatrous sect that forbids the use of fresh vegetables (greens) on the twelve parva-tithis (the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth and fifteenth days of the bright half and dark half of every month) or five parva-tithis (the fifth, eighth and fourteenth days of the bright half and the eight and fourteenth days ofthe dark half) of every month, the seventh to fifteenth days of the bright half of the months of Caitra, Āśvina, Kārtika, Phāgana and Aṣāḍha and eight days of Paryuṣaṇā parva. This tradition is not new. It is many centuries old and it has authenticity of Āgamas. In the book of life of ten śrāvakas, entitled "Ananda-sundara'' composed in the first half of the sixteenth century of Vikram era, there is a reference to Parva-tithis as under :
पर्वाणि सन्ति सर्वज्ञैर्भाषितानि जिनागमे ॥ २६४ ॥
सांवत्सरं चतुर्मासत्रयं चाष्टानिकाद्वयम् । मासगं पर्वषट्कं वा, पक्षगा पञ्चपर्व्यपि ।।२६५ ।. एतेषु निरतीचार- पञ्चाचारपरो नरः । शुभं परभवायुष्कं बध्नाति शुभकर्म च ।। २६६ ।।
यदुक्तं महानिशीथे- भयवं ! बीया पमुहासु पव्वतिहीसु विहियं धम्माणुट्ठाणं किं फलं हवइ ? गोयमा ! बहु फलं हवइ । जम्हा एयासु पव्वतिहीसु पाएणं जीवो परभवाउयं कम्मं समजणइ, तम्हा सावएणं